Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cooling device for coolants suppliable to an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, whereby the cooling device has a radiator and at least one further cooler connectable to the radiator via plug-in connections.
Description of the Background Art
A radiator is used in modern internal combustion engines for recooling the water used for cooling the engine. In particular, cooling of the hot cylinders during operation is necessary to prevent damage to the pistons on the cylinder wall and to avoid burning of the lubricant.
Typically used as a fastener are mounting flanges or mounting rails, formed on the radiator block and optionally having specially formed nuts insertable in these, at which the housings are attached with optionally also specially formed screws or bolts.
In contrast, charge air coolers are employed as additional components in internal combustion engines and are used to cool already pre-compressed air, to be supplied to these, for the purpose of further compression and thereby increasing the output power of internal combustion engines. To this end, the charge air cooler representing a heat exchanger has a radiator block with a tube system through which a cooling medium flows. To improve the heat exchange, the tube system is provided with fins or lamellae. The radiator block is surrounded by a housing, sealed off from it, for passing through charge air, as is disclosed, for example, in EP 0 036 756 B1 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,052) or EP 0 343 565 A2 (which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,868).
DE 43 32 919 A1, which has as its object a radiator with an intercooler attached thereto, discloses a fastener, designed in each case from a self-locking screw on the charge air cooler, the screw lies form-fittingly against the charge air cooler in a duct with an elastic lining, and from an opening for this screw on the narrow side of the radiator, whereby the screw can engage behind the edge of the opening. The fastening of the radiator occurs by insertion of the same from above into the intercooler and locking by the locking elements, disposed in the lower area, and subsequent screwing of the screws into the openings.
The arrangement or design of the fastener on the radiator block for a cooling air housing, surrounding the block, or a cooling air supply hood is relatively expensive with respect to the construction cost due to the metalworking processes, but also with respect to assembly and disassembly.
Also, DE 196 45 507 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a fastening arrangement for an air supply hood on an intercooler, which has two air supply boxes, opposite to one another and disposed on a rectangular radiator block, for the charge air inlet and outlet. The air supply hood is disposed detachably on the cooling air inlet side with fastening elements on the air supply boxes and between the boxes. At least one plastic holding tab having at least one tongue, disposed on the one air supply box, with a substantially rectangular cross section and on the side opposite to the holding tab two plastic stop members for two stops, disposed spaced apart on the other air supply box, are used to this end.
DE 10 2006 037 761 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference, also discloses a fastening arrangement for an intercooler connected to a radiator, whereby the radiator optionally together with or also without the intercooler can be fixed to a holder in the front end of the motor vehicle, in order to thus create a modular structure. The fixing arrangement for the water cooler has a downward projecting adapter, which matches the respective adapter of the intercooler, so that the radiator can also be fixed to the holding structure without interconnection of the intercooler.